by K. M. Shea
It was easy enough to trace my path across the farmland that surrounded the Pack house and make my way back to the car in the darkness.
The Flatlands Pack was one of the least respected Packs in Illinois due to their lack of strength and discipline—making it child’s play to enter and exit their lands without an invitation.
Regardless, Nash would have become a problem for Hazel. Already her wizard allies had abandoned her. But while I couldn’t involve myself with her fight for her House, I could make sure none of the other races tried to poke a nose into her business.
I reached my car—parked on the shoulder of a country road—and slid in, turning it on.
I glanced at my wrist watch again, and tried to ignore the nagging sensation that tramping out around werewolf land for the sake of a wizard was a sign I was losing some of my famed control.
Hazel Medeis wasn’t part of the Drake Family. I could pretend that if I let her rejoin her family and successfully take back House Medeis it would give me a toehold of power in wizarding society…but I knew it wasn’t political maneuverings that had me away from Drake Hall and invading hostile territory without the knowledge of my own Family.
Nope, it only took a petite wizard who was equal parts saint and sass to accomplish that.
I rubbed my face and growled.
It bothered me that Hazel no longer smelled like a rotting carcass. Rather, the scent of her blood had turned intoxicating overnight, to the point where I couldn’t resist purposely inhaling whenever she got close. I was barely better than one of the mutty-werewolves!
And I couldn’t even answer why. I just knew that when I saw Hazel relentlessly throw herself at the vampire responsible for all the killings and slayings in the vampire community…something in me changed.
Hazel had no loyalty to me—nor any of the vampire Families. But there was a stark beauty in her fierceness when she had fought Solene—because she wasn’t fighting for herself, but for others.
When was the last time I had witnessed something like that?
Although, after Hazel had woken up and I had some time to think about it, it irritated me more and more to think how she had just flung herself into the fight with her at-the-time miniscule powers. The idiot.
I roughly slammed the car’s gear into drive and stomped on the gas, trying to cut off my stupid—and disgustingly soft—thoughts. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to sound like one of the crusty old vampire Elders who went around quoting poetry about the people they’d lost centuries ago.
The only upside in all of this, if there could truly be an upside in this power imbalance, was that she had no idea the power she held over me. She had no idea how much I trusted her. I’d have to do something about it before she—or anyone else—realized the truth.
But for now, I’d protect her where I could—even if that meant calling in favors with the dragon shifters, or visiting werewolves in the early hours of the morning. And I’d do everything I could to train her up to make her lethal—and hopefully better able to survive the fight that loomed in her future.
I didn’t know what I wanted in return. Nothing, maybe?
It would be better if I didn’t get anything in return. It’s not like she’s ‘the one.’
I impatiently shoved the idea of the ridiculous, overly romanticized vampire concept of love out of my mind. I was addled, but not that badly.
Still. If she flung herself in harm’s way again—like she had with Solene—I was going to wring her scrawny neck myself.
Chapter Nine
Hazel
My heart thudded so painfully in my chest it made my throat ache as I walked shoulder to shoulder with Celestina, following behind Killian and Josh.
Night had long ago fallen, and we were walking up a back street that circled behind the stores that lined the block Tutu’s covered. There were only a few street lights here, but it made sense that we’d approach Tutu’s from the back.
In our informational meeting—after Killian had decided what ten vampires would accompany him and me—Killian said the bulk of Tutu’s was underground. So even if we broke in through a back entrance, we’d still have to go down, but at least we’d avoid public notice.
Behind me, Rupert sighed in irritation.
Killian said he chose his team for skill alone, but I suspected he was aware that letting Rupert in on this…challenge, as he had called it, would restore Rupert. At the very least the rest of the Family likely wouldn’t be so cold to him.
Still, I can’t say I was psyched to have the red-haired vampire at my back.
Killian held up his hand to stop us when he reached the back of Tutu’s.
It looked innocuous enough—a little, two-story brick building.
But when I blinked, I could see the magic wards that covered the walls. I couldn’t tell everything they’d set off and do, but I was pretty confident they’d sound an alarm and hit us with some kind of pain spell if we walked through them.
Killian popped open a small mint container and carelessly flung what looked like a mint at the building.
Rather than bounce off the wall, the mint dissolved on contact, and the magic that hummed through the red wards turned a dull gray.
“What was that?” I squawked.
“The wards are down?” Killian asked.
Being the only one capable of sensing magic, I nodded. “Yeah, they’re down. But what was that? It just cut off the wards. They don’t have power!”
“That,” Killian carefully enunciated as he turned toward me. “Was a favor.” He glanced at one of the second-story windows, then barely nodded at Celestina.
Stirring only the tiniest of breezes, Celestina sprang at the window. With her vampire athleticism she easily reached it and pulled herself onto the sill, balancing with ease on the tiny spot.
She blocked the window with her body, so I couldn’t see exactly what she did, but after a few muted metal clicks, she did a one-armed handstand on the windowsill and pried the window open a little, then gripped the window itself and forcibly swung it open.
Hanging from the window as if she didn’t have a care in the world, Celestina gave us a thumbs up before she slipped inside.
Rupert went next, followed by Julianne. I watched them scale the wall with a slight frown.
“Wizard.” Killian offered me his hand.
“No thanks,” I said.
Killian raised an eyebrow. “We’re going through the upstairs window. There is no other route.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I don’t need to be carried like a sack of potatoes to get in there.”
I clambered onto the windowsill of the first-floor window and braced my feet on the side of the window before shimmying up.
There are certain positives to being short and slender. It’s pretty hard to keep me out of places because I can fit just about anywhere, and I’m light enough that I can haul myself up. Since Gavino’s been having me lift weights during my training sessions it’s only gotten easier!
I wasn’t as fast as the vampires—who could make it to the second-floor window with a single leap—but I was able to find toeholds in the brick and force my way up the wall. My pants, unfortunately, got stuck on the windowsill when I slithered through, so I had to wiggle my butt to get all the way in, but I hadn’t torn anything, so as far as I was concerned it was a success.
The room was dark—Celestina hadn’t turned on any lights—but I could make out five wooden desks topped with sleek computers.
I popped to my feet and hitched my pants up as I felt a whisper of a breeze behind me.
“Inelegant, but effective enough I suppose,” Killian said.
“Yep. Two thumbs up for my new clothes, though!” I showed Killian my thumbs as I twirled around to face him. “It moves with me really well and offers a little more protection than my workout clothes!”
“I am glad you are so satisfied,” Killian dryly said. “And I can see, now, why it’s necessary if you plan to so artfully scale many
more walls.”
I shrugged. “You’re just butthurt I got up here by myself.”
“I’m what?” Killian hissed.
“I beg your pardon, Your Eminence, but might I interrupt?” Josh called in his droll, quiet voice. He was seated at a desk across the room, his face eerily lit a bright blue by the glowing computer screen positioned in front of him. “I need to speak to Hazel.”
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Might you remind me what your lockbox number is?” Josh asked as Celestina peered over his shoulder.
“It’s in Block 45, lockbox number 45228.” I drifted toward Josh and the computer as more vampires slipped in through the window.
Josh banged away on the keyboard, clicking through screens so quickly I couldn’t even tell what I was seeing. “Found it,” he said. “Looks like Block 45 is currently parked in the Sapphire Docking Bay.”
“Let’s go find it then, shall we?” Killian smirked and sauntered for the door—where Celestina was working on the office security system.
“Almost done.” She had the flashlight of her cellphone turned on and had spread a dusty substance over the number pad of the system, then typed something into her cellphone.
I stood on my tiptoes to view her phone screen. “You’re googling the security system? In the middle of a break in?”
“We didn’t know for certain what the office security system is, and I need to know how many numbers are in the combo,” Celestina said.
I turned to Killian, but he only shrugged. “Some things must be dealt with on the fly. Such is the life of a criminal.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You sound awfully sure about that. Speaking from experience, are you?”
“Definitely not.” Killian gave me his most innocent smile—which was more wolfish than angelic. “I am an honorable and upright politician. What do I know about breaking and entering?”
“Got it,” Celestina said before I could respond. She typed away on the keypad, which made a little musical noise. “And we’re in.” She opened the door and slipped through first.
Josh flicked off the computer screen and went in after her. I poked my head into the darkened hallway—which was pitch black—and barely managed to hold in a yelp when Killian scooped me up.
“You’re night blind—it will be faster this way.” He soundlessly slunk down the hallway.
“You could have warned me,” I hissed in his ear.
“And spared myself any amusement at your expense? No.”
I rolled my eyes as I slung my arm around his shoulder and tried to peer behind him. I could hear the faint footsteps of the rest of the Drake vampires trailing behind us, but I couldn’t see anything in the pervasive darkness.
Reflexively, I hunched closer to Killian.
“You are like carrying a furnace,” he grumbled.
“I’m stressed,” I said. “I’m hotter when stressed.”
“That’s a new excuse.” Killian swept through a doorway. Based on the way it echoed, and its faint smell of concrete, I was guessing this was a stairway.
My suspicions were confirmed when Killian started descending—which is a pretty jarring sensation when you can’t see anything and you’re being carried.
I was stoked when Killian reached the first floor and slipped out of the stairway and into Tutu’s ground floor.
A dim light was on in the lobby, so I could finally see my own hands—but the stairway popped us out behind some fancy iron gates that blocked the lobby from the loading station—where we were.
Tutu’s wasn’t like a normal bank. It didn’t have stationary vaults or lockboxes. Instead, vaults and lockboxes were organized in blocks. Each block moved around Tutu’s various docking bays, and when a client came in the block was summoned to a viewing area—which was located behind the massive doors Celestina and Josh were working on with their high-tech gadgets.
The client was then led to the loading station—where we were. From there clients were taken to the viewing area, but how they were taken there varied in each branch building, and changed several times a year. Like I said, dragon shifters were both paranoid and ruthless in their protection.
In our planning and strategy meetings, Killian had explained that after lobby hours closed, the system for calling the blocks into the viewing areas also closed. The blocks still moved around—which is why Josh had to look up its location ahead of time—but they were sealed off in the docking bays.
“Done,” Josh said. “The system has been disabled.”
Celestina tapped her finger on the door. “The plans said there are guards behind these doors.” She slipped her sidearm out of its holster. “Deadly force, Your Eminence?”
“No.” Killian’s breath tickled my cheek with his reply. “That will only irritate Tutu—which I’d like to avoid.”
Celestina slipped her gun back in its holster and rolled up her pant legs to grab a giant syringe. “Very well. We’ll use tranquilizers.”
She nodded to Gavino. He stalked up to the door and grabbed it from the bottom, his muscles bulging as he pulled up on it.
I squirmed in Killian’s grasp, trying to get down and lift my legs out of his grip. I only managed to make his hand slip closer to my butt which was not the direction I wanted to head in. This made me grumble, and I elbowed him as I tried to forcibly peel his fingers off my leg.
Killian tipped his head back to avoid my forehead smacking his jaw. “Stop wriggling.”
“I can see now, and I need to be ready for a fight.” I kicked my legs a little when Killian didn’t let me go.
“No kicking.” Killian tried to pry me from his neck, but I didn’t want to let him drop me in a heap, so I clung to his shoulders.
“Then let me go.”
“Stop clinging to me like a koala and I will!”
“You’re going to drop me in a pile on purpose!”
One of the vampires near us snorted in amusement. I wasn’t entirely sure who it was—it sounded like Celestina, but she had her back to us, and no one in a ten-foot radius was even looking at us.
The noise distracted Killian long enough that I was able to climb down him, reaching the floor just when Gavino-the-beefcake wrenched the door so it rolled up into the ceiling.
Waiting on the other side of the door were four giant werebears in their bear forms. They snarled with a ferocity I felt in my bones, but before they could even swat a paw, Celestina, Josh, and two other vampires were on them.
One vampire headbutted his target, another punched hers. I couldn’t see what Josh did—I was too distracted by Celestina literally slinging her werebear over her shoulder, slamming its head to the ground in a wrestling move.
The werebear instantly stilled, falling unconscious as the other vampires similarly knocked out their targets.
“I thought you were going to use tranquilizers?” I trotted through the open door and peered down at the nearest, unconscious werebear.
“We are, now.” Celestina parted the werebear’s fur and stabbed the syringe into muscle. “Tranquilizers take time to set in—at least fifteen minutes. Our initial strike will only knock them out for a few minutes. The tranquilizer contains a muscle relaxant, so even if they wake up, they won’t be able to call for help before it entirely sets in and makes them sleep again.”
“Oh,” I said. “So much for movie accuracy.”
Killian brushed past us, moving deeper into the room—which looked similar to a giant car garage with an immense track cutting right down the center. “Keep pace, Wizard.”
“There are no traps ahead,” announced one of the vampires.
I frowned as I scurried after Killian. “That seems weird, considering—”
Something clicked, and I heard the roar of distant fire.
The vampires leaped back, but I lunged forward, reaching for magic as I thrust my arms out in front of me.
My face heated with my wizard mark, and I threw my shield—forged of pure magic—up just in time to block a rush
ing river of fire.
Flames blazed around me. My shield flickered, but held steady as I reached out with my senses.
The floral taste of magic told me the fire came from a fae-enchanted object. I followed the magic back to the source—a crystal of some sort—then held my shield in place as I loosened a bolt of blue-hued lightning at it.
My shield actually cracked due to my split attention, but my lightning bolt was accurate and powerful, blasting the crystal to smithereens so the fire sputtered out.
“Excellent reaction time.” Celestina strode forward to stand just a little in front of me. “However, I am not a fan of this.” She pointed to the crack in my shield.
“It’s hard to keep it strengthened and use other magic,” I admitted.
She pursed her lips. “It’s something to work on. Perhaps you ought to start fighting two vampires at a time.”
“A worthy idea.” Josh joined Celestina at inspecting my fractured shield. “To ease her into it I could shoot at her while she fights.”
“That’s not easing me in at all,” I squawked. “You’re practically a sharp shooter!”
“Your reaction time is getting better.” Killian sauntered forward to add to the party. “Well done.”
“You knew the trap was there?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I was prepared to toss you if necessary. But let’s not forget the task at hand. Shall we?” He motioned to the metal track, which disappeared into darkness.
Celestina led, but Josh waited this time and brought up the rear while Killian and I stayed somewhere in the middle of the group.
The ground slowly fell off as the track descended, going deeper and deeper underground. Flickering lights were soldered on every forty feet stretch of the track, dimly illuminating the way.
I craned my neck and peered over the side, trying to see the ground beneath us, but there was only darkness.
